Chapter 103: The Tyrannical Man

When Xie Qingtang shook her head there, the man who had spoken first strode forward at once and barked in anger, "Why are you shaking your head? Do you mean my second brother is beyond saving?"

"That's right. If he had been brought here even a moment later, he really would have been beyond saving," Xie Qingtang said without the slightest courtesy, then turned and walked toward the counter.

At the sight of this, several more men blocked her way and kept shouting, "Aren't you the miracle doctor people keep talking about online? Hurry up and save my brother. You can't even do that little bit? I don't know where this title of miracle doctor came from. If you can't treat him, I'll smash this Hall of Benevolence of yours."

"So you're just using the banner of a miracle doctor to swindle people? Brothers, let's smash that fake sign of yours and make sure you can never cheat anyone again. We'll also make sure you can't survive in South City."

While Xie Qingtang was being threatened by these men, the ringleader who had just been stabbed made no objection at all. On the contrary, he seemed quite pleased to watch his underlings threaten her.

"Stupid brute. If you still want the man on that stretcher to live, then get out of my way now. I won't say it twice." Xie Qingtang's brows knit together. This gang of ignorant, reckless men knew nothing but threats. If they delayed any longer, the man on the stretcher would truly be beyond saving.

At that moment, Zhou Jinfan and Song Qing both came over and shoved aside the men who were still cursing. Xie Qingtang took out the Reviving Spring Powder her master had given her from her medical kit and said with some reluctance, "I've used it twice in just a few days. I don't know when I'll be able to go back to the mountain and ask Master for more."

But whatever the case, saving a life came first. Though Xie Qingtang felt pained to use the powder, she knew better than to ignore a human life hanging by a thread. She stepped up to the man on the stretcher, sprinkled some powder over his abdomen, then took out silver needles and pierced a few points there.

What happened next shocked everyone. The blood that had been pouring from the wound just moments ago stopped at once. The men who had been shouting so fiercely a moment before were stunned into silence.

"See that? That's what you call a miracle doctor. One needle and the ailment is gone. But your brother's injury looks more like a knife wound, doesn't it?" Zhou Jinfan snorted coldly, mocking them.

Those men were slapped hard in the face by what they saw. They were indeed reckless, but that did not mean they were incapable of telling right from wrong. So they stood quietly to the side and watched Xie Qingtang treat their brother.

The bystanders nearby could tell the man on the stretcher was in even greater danger, so none of them urged her on.

After finishing that much, Xie Qingtang asked Zhou Jinfan for a pair of scissors. She carefully cut open the man's clothes and, seeing the huge knife gash across his abdomen, her brows furrowed deeply.

"A wound this long needs stitching. You should take him across the street to the Gu Hospital for surgery," Xie Qingtang said. She was not actually skilled at suturing, so sending him to the Gu Hospital was the best choice.

The expression on the first man's face darkened instantly, black as a coal scuttle. "If we could go to the Gu Hospital, why would we have come here?"

After he said this, Xie Qingtang looked puzzled and turned to glance at the man. Zhou Jinfan voiced her confusion for her. "What do you mean by that?"

"Why are you asking so much useless nonsense? Can he be treated or not? The bleeding has already stopped, hasn't it? You're a doctor too. Don't tell me you can't stitch a wound?" one of the underlings said impatiently.

Xie Qingtang rose to her feet, gave the first man a sidelong look, and then said, "I've stitched up cattle before. If you don't mind that, I can stitch him up too."

"What did you say?" The underlings beside them immediately showed ferocious expressions, staring at Xie Qingtang with hostility. These people were absolutely no harmless lot. Judging from the wound on the man's abdomen alone, Xie Qingtang could tell they were people who lived by the blade.

Such people were the last ones one should provoke. But Xie Qingtang's work was to heal and save lives, so she was not afraid at all. Her face darkened slightly as she went on, "I'm not lying. I've only ever stitched wounds on cattle. If you refuse to go to the Gu Hospital and insist that I sew up this wound myself, then whatever happens later, don't blame me."

As soon as she said that, even the ringleader's eyelids twitched. He then looked back at one of his men, and those underlings actually herded every patient waiting inside and everyone there to watch the commotion out of the Hall of Benevolence before slamming the door shut.

The next second, a blade was pressed directly against Xie Qingtang's throat. At the sight of this, Zhou Jinfan and Song Qing both drew a sharp breath.

"Save my brother's life. If you can't bring him back, then you'll be buried with him," the ringleader said in a brutally savage tone.

With a knife at her throat, Xie Qingtang's face did not change in the slightest. She remained as calm as ever, as though the blade did not exist. In a placid voice, she said, "I'll say the same thing again: I can save him, but I can't promise I can keep him alive."

"You're courting death, woman!" The ringleader tightened his grip. The blade sank into her neck and drew a line of blood. Song Qing, standing nearby, immediately knitted his brows, then stepped forward and said, "I studied a little Western medicine in medical school. It's only stitching a wound. I can do it."

"Kid, don't try to act tough." One of the underlings grabbed Song Qing and warned him sharply.

It was Song Qing's first day on the job, and something like this had already happened. He was naturally tense and afraid, and a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. Seeing this, Xie Qingtang sighed inwardly and said, "You'll handle the stitching. I'll make sure this man wakes up."

"All right." Song Qing gritted his teeth, knowing there was no turning back now.

Xie Qingtang nodded and went to fetch her medical kit, which contained some thread suitable for suturing wounds.

She said to the ringleader, "Wait outside. Don't come in carelessly."

"I'm staying here. Don't push your luck. This is the last condition I'll agree to," the ringleader said with a cold snort. He stood his ground and did not leave, though he did send his underlings out of the examination room.

Song Qing's hand was steady. Before this, out of curiosity and interest, he had learned a bit of Western medicine in medical school as well, not just traditional medicine, so he soon finished stitching the wound.